SilverStone Raven RVX01 Review

The RVX01 is the first entry into SilverStone's Raven X line of cases, a new subcategory of the overarching Raven series. The idea is to retain the same aggressive styling, rotated layout and heavy focus on top-tier air-cooling while hitting a lower price point and, it seems, a smaller desk footprint as well. That said, the RVX01 is still an ATX chassis, separate from the mini-ITX Raven Z cases like the RVZ01.

SilverStone has used quite a lot of plastic in building up the exterior of the RVX01, though this is common even on the standard, more expensive Raven cases. Thankfully, it is matt rather than glossy and it's also very solid indeed. Our sample is the windowed one and comes in black with a red trim, though blue and green trim cases are also produced, as well as a non-windowed one with a red trim only. The window, which is on the right panel, feels solid enough and is flush with the panel. Ultimately, the RVX01 doesn't ooze quality but the case feels decent enough for its price.

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As mentioned, a signature of Raven cases is their air-cooling abilities, and the RVX01 is no exception. The 90 degree motherboard rotation mean air moves through your system from bottom to top rather than front to back, following the natural tendency of heat to rise. To complement this, SilverStone installs three 120mm intake fans along the bottom. These aren't just any intake fans either, they're SilverStone's famed Air Penetrators. They deliver air essentially unimpeded to the core components – the GPU, CPU and also your hard drives. They are also guarded by a full-length bottom dust filter which pulls out from the rear and is very easy to remove and replace.

Meanwhile, exhaust capabilities are left to the workings of positive pressure, though SilverStone also recommends using a graphics card cooler that exhausts virtually all of its hot air out of its rear I/O panel. The roof, as you'd expect, is heavily ventilated with lots of coloured mesh. There is a 120mm fan mount up here, but really you'll only likely need to use this is you're using an all-in-one liquid cooler. What the roof is missing is a dust filter – not an issue when the system is on, as the air being pushed out here will prevent dust from entering, but if you leave your system off quite a lot then it could result in a build-up relatively fast.

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The front I/O panel is located on the roof, making it easy to access with the case below you. It doesn't include any fan control switches, so SilverStone will need to strike an effective balance between noise and performance with its fans. Otherwise, you get the usual ports and buttons, though the power LED is located up on front and lights up red to match the trim. The rotated motherboard design means that your rear I/O ports are also all located on the roof, though SilverStone uses a cover, held in with two thumbscrews, to shield them from view and route them out the back. This is a wise choice, of course, but as it does mean that if you need frequent access to the back of your motherboard that you'll likely be better served by a case with a more traditional design.

The RVX01 lacks external drive bays, something that's becoming more common and helps to keep the size down. While it looks like the case has some ventilation openings at the front, they are in fact sealed up. Even so, the fifth and final fan mount is a front one, and if you chose to install a fan here it would draw air in from beneath the front panel where there's a large opening.

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The case stands firmly on its thick rubber feet and they give it plenty of clearance for the intake fans to do their thing. One area where we're less impressed is the rear. Here, you'll find a ventilated section which aligns with your PSU's intake fan, but there's no dust filter whatsoever. This is hard to overlook – a simple magnetic filter would have solved the issue for little money and with barely any visual impact since it's located at the back anyway.